BUCHAREST: Former professional kickboxer and controversial influencer Andrew Tate appeared in a Romanian court Friday following his arrest for alleged human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal group.
The move came just days after Tate had a heated Twitter exchange with Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg which Internet users speculated helped Romanian police to locate and arrest him.
Tate, who holds British and US nationality, and his brother Tristan were detained for an initial “24 hours,” a spokeswoman for a Romanian body fighting organized crime, Ramona Bolla, told AFP on Friday.
A court hearing in Bucharest to decide whether to put the four suspects — the Tate brothers and two Romanian citizens — in pre-trial detention for 30 days began at 2:00 p.m. (12:00 GMT).
Viral Twitter exchanges between Tate and Thunberg this week on subjects ranging from cars with “enormous emissions” to pizza boxes, fueled speculation on social media that the arrests followed Tate’s spats with the Swedish activist.
Internet users speculated that the brand of pizza featured in a video posted by Tate in his angry exchanges with Thunberg helped police confirm Tate’s presence in Romania.
Thunberg quipped on Twitter that “this is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes.”
“It’s not related,” spokeswoman Bolla told AFP.
“To determine whether a person is in the country or not, we use a whole range of means,” she added, stressing that “arrest warrants and searches” had already been in place.
Greta Thunberg’s spokesperson confirmed to AFP that her tweet this morning, which garnered about 1.6 million likes so far, was in fact a “joke,” adding that the Romanian authorities “have not been in touch with her.”
Since the beginning of 2021, the prosecution has been investigating the suspects and had already searched Tate’s villa in April.
According to a DIICOT statement issued Thursday, the influencer, his brother and two Romanians are suspected of “organized crimes,” “rape” and “human trafficking” in several countries.
So far six potential victims have been identified.
The suspects recruited and exploited women by coercing them into “forced labor... and pornographic acts with a view to producing and disseminating such material” online to “obtain substantial financial benefits.”
Five locations were raided across Romania as part of the investigation.
Tate appeared on the Big Brother television show in 2016, but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
Tate, who moved to Romania several years ago with Tristan, has been banned from many social media platforms for misogynistic remarks and hate speech, but was allowed back on Twitter after Elon Musk bought the company.
Influencer Andrew Tate held in Romania for human trafficking
https://arab.news/5sqy7
Influencer Andrew Tate held in Romania for human trafficking
- The accusation against the influencers include rape and forming a criminal group
- Tate and his brother Tristan were detained for an initial 24 hours
Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access
- Supreme Court set deadline for responding to petition filed by the Foreign Press Association to Jan. 4
- Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the Strip
JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Sunday welcomed the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to set January 4 as the deadline for Israel to respond to its petition seeking media access to Gaza.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Israel has instead allowed, on a case-by-case basis, a handful of reporters to accompany its troops into the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition to the supreme court last year, seeking immediate access for international journalists to the Gaza Strip.
On October 23, the court held a first hearing on the case, and decided to give Israeli authorities one month to develop a plan for granting access.
Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with their plan, but on Saturday it set January 4 as a final deadline.
“If the respondents (Israeli authorities) do not inform us of their position by that date, a decision on the request for a conditional order will be made on the basis of the material in the case file,” the court said.
The FPA welcomed the court’s latest directive.
“After two years of the state’s delay tactics, we are pleased that the court’s patience has finally run out,” the association said in a statement.
“We renew our call for the state of Israel to immediately grant journalists free and unfettered access to the Gaza Strip.
“And should the government continue to obstruct press freedoms, we hope that the supreme court will recognize and uphold those freedoms,” it added.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.
